Markup
20% markup adds 20% of the cost to the cost. On a cost of AED 9,900 that is AED 1,980, giving a selling price of AED 11,880.
Quotation software for construction contractors in the UAE
BEQ is a quotation and estimating tool for businesses that price work. This page is the construction case specifically: pricing measured work from your own material and labor rates, building the estimate behind the price, and turning it into a quotation a client can read and compare. The businesses overview covers how the same workflow applies to fit-out, MEP, maintenance, suppliers and service providers.
What a construction quotation has to contain
A construction quotation is not a price list. It has to show what is included, in what quantity, at what rate and on what terms — while keeping what the work costs you out of the document the client receives.
- Line items with a unit and a quantity, so the client can check the scope against the drawings or the tender.
- labor priced the way the job is actually worked: a fixed amount, a quantity at a rate, or a quantity at a rate for a number of days.
- Overhead and profit applied deliberately, rather than buried in a rounded-up unit rate.
- The terms that decide whether the quotation can be accepted: validity, payment terms, notes and exclusions.
- Your company details and branding, because the document represents your business, not the software.
Price a job from your own rates
The price library holds each product or service once, with its unit and price. When a new job needs blockwork, plaster or a day rate for masons, you add the item and a quantity instead of retyping a spreadsheet row. Quantity times rate is calculated for you, which removes the part of quoting where a formula is copied down one row too few.
Saved company and client details are reused the same way. Your address, quotation defaults, payment terms, notes and exclusions do not have to be re-entered for every enquiry. A rate change is a library change, so the next quotation is priced from your current rates rather than from whichever copy of the spreadsheet happens to be open.
A worked example: blockwork and plaster
The figures below are illustrative, but the sequence is exactly the order BEQ calculates in. Amounts are shown in AED; BEQ uses the currency set on the account.
| Line | Quantity | Rate | Amount (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blockwork, 200 mm | 120 m² | 45.00 | 5,400.00 |
| Plaster to walls | 120 m² | 18.00 | 2,160.00 |
| Masons (labor) | 2 masons × 4 days | 180.00/day | 1,440.00 |
| Direct cost | 9,000.00 | ||
| Overhead, 10% of direct cost | 900.00 | ||
| Cost to deliver | 9,900.00 | ||
| Profit, 20% markup | 1,980.00 | ||
| Quotation subtotal | 11,880.00 | ||
| VAT, 5% | 594.00 | ||
| Quotation total | 12,474.00 |
The client does not see this table. They see the quotation's line descriptions, quantities and units, followed by the subtotal, VAT and total. Unit rate and line total columns are switched on for the quotation when a client needs to see them.
Markup and margin are not the same number
Both are percentages, which is why they get confused. BEQ treats them differently, and the difference is visible in the total.
Margin
20% margin makes profit 20% of the selling price. BEQ divides the cost by (1 − 20%), which gives AED 12,375 and a profit of AED 2,475 on the same job.
A fixed profit amount is available too, for work where the market sets the price and the margin is whatever is left. Whichever method you choose, the calculation behind the saved quotation and the PDF is the same calculation you reviewed on screen.
From estimate to the document the customer receives
Your internal build-up — material, labor, overhead and profit — is used to calculate the quotation and is private by default. The customer document shows the line descriptions and the totals; a cost line is added to its summary only when you choose to show it, so you can price accurately without publishing your margins.
The presentation is configurable: layout, font, text and accent colors, logo, and an optional signature or stamp. Validity can be shown or hidden, and payment terms, notes and exclusions appear on the quotation when you fill them in. The finished quotation is exported as a PDF and stays available in your account rather than only in an email thread.
Importing an existing construction price list
Most contractors already have rates in a spreadsheet. BEQ imports Excel (.xlsx, .xls) and CSV files with up to 5,000 rows per import. Nothing is written until you have seen what will be added and what will be updated, so a mismapped column is caught before it reaches your library.
Import is a starting point, not a live link to the spreadsheet. The prices imported today are the prices used on quotations until you change them.
Where BEQ stops
Being clear about the boundary is more useful than pretending there is not one.
- BEQ does not measure drawings or produce a quantity takeoff. You enter the quantities; BEQ prices them.
- It does not produce a bill of quantities or a tender document set.
- It is not accounting or invoicing software, not an official tax filing system, and not an accredited e-invoicing provider. The quotations it produces are quotations, not tax filings.
If your process needs a takeoff or a bill of quantities, BEQ sits after that step: the measured quantities come in, and the priced quotation goes out.
Frequently asked questions
- Does BEQ measure drawings or produce a quantity takeoff?
- No. BEQ does not measure drawings or produce a quantity takeoff. You enter the quantities; BEQ prices them from your own material and labor rates.
- Can I import an existing construction price list?
- Yes. BEQ imports Excel (.xlsx, .xls) and CSV files with up to 5,000 rows per import. Nothing is written until you have seen what will be added and what will be updated.
- Can BEQ add labor, overhead and profit to a quotation?
- Yes. A quotation can include materials by quantity, labor priced per day or hour, overhead as a percentage of direct cost, and profit as markup, margin, or a fixed amount. Internal costs stay private from the customer by default.
- Is BEQ accounting or invoicing software?
- No. BEQ is a quotation and estimating tool. It is not accounting or invoicing software, not an official tax filing system, and not an accredited e-invoicing provider. The quotations it produces are quotations, not tax filings.
If you price measured work and want your rates, labor and overhead in one place, you can try BEQ for free.
Who this fits
Main contractors and subcontractors pricing measured work, including fit-out and MEP packages built from a rate library. The workflow is the same for a villa, a shop or a maintenance job; what changes is the items and the units.
To see the capabilities in more detail, read the full feature list or what BEQ costs. If your trade is not construction, the businesses overview is the better starting point. For a question that is not answered on either page, contact us.